The present invention is directed in general to communications systems and methods for operating same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to systems, methods, and devices for managing the delivery of streaming media content to a user equipment (UE) device.
When compared to fixed wireline or fiber-based networks, wireless networks support substantially less data carrying capacity due to the trade-off of providing the convenience of mobile connectivity. However, smartphone users have exhibited an increasing trend toward viewing streaming media on their devices in recent years. Furthermore, media content sharing (e.g., YouTube) over the Internet has been growing in popularity in North America and Europe, with exponential growth observed between the years 2005 and 2010.
Currently, media traffic is carried by cellular network operators on their user data plane. Due to the relatively large amount of data required to deliver streaming media services, a substantial amount of wireless capacity is utilized. As a result, a wireless operator's ability to service their users in a given area may be adversely affected. For example, users may experience substantially reduced data transmission rates, erratic voice reception, or loss of wireless service altogether.
Various factors affect the delivery of media content to mobile smart phones, including wireless network capacity, mobile device screen size and multimedia capabilities, media formats supported by the mobile device, its processing power, and its corresponding battery life. Accordingly, a need exists for an authentication method, system and device to overcome the problems in the art, such as outlined above. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional processes and technologies will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follows.